Hello, {{lead.First Name:default=Subscriber}}, welcome to HIMSS' Health IT Policy Update, bringing you the latest news on Congressional, federal, and state health IT legislative and regulatory activities from HIMSS' Government Relations office. We welcome your feedback. If you're reading this complimentary newsletter online or receiving it as a forward, please subscribe.

Congressional

Senate Votes to Confirm Dr. Califf as the next FDA Commissioner
Califf will be focused on several unfished initiatives at the agency, such as e-cigarette regulations, food labeling reforms, overhauling the approval process for new drugs and medical devices, and re-evaluating how prescription painkillers are regulated.

Federal

HIMSS Commitment to Precision Medicine Initiative
Yesterday at the White House Precision Medicine Summit, Carla Smith, HIMSS North America Executive Vice President, joined President Obama and healthcare stakeholders from across the U.S. to pledge HIMSS' commitment to engaging and educating the health IT community in support the Precision Medicine Initiative.

New HIMSS Blog Post on Ransomware
Ransomware is a type of malware which you may have heard of, but don’t know much about. You may have even heard about your peers or other healthcare organizations being hit with ransomware. But, what is it exactly? What does it look like? What do you do if you are infected with it? And, where do you turn to for help?

This HIMSS blog post provides useful information for the healthcare community on this increasingly important topic.

Register Now: AHRQ Webinar on Health Information Exchange
An AHRQ webinar Wednesday, March 16 from 12:30 - 2:00 p.m. ET, will discuss current research on HIE effectiveness, use, usability, facilitators and barriers to actual use, implementation, and sustainability in hospitals. Participants will also learn about the use of HIE in long-term post-acute care settings. The webinar is free and CE/CME is available at no charge to eligible professionals. To register, click here.

RENEW YOUR HIMSS MEMBERSHIP
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Health IT Policy Update is a weekly online newsletter published by HIMSS.

The inclusion of an organization name, product or service in this publication should not be construed as a HIMSS endorsement of such organization, product or service, nor is the failure to include an organization name, product or service to be construed as disapproval.